Lucy Apps’s debut novel tells the story of 19-year-old Gloria, who is living in east London with her mum in the summer of 1999. Gloria has a learning disability and is past... Read more »
As Venus educates Rika in the art of self-possession, we are only moderately surprised when Rika informs us, “I was in love with the marble goddess.” When she abruptly mentions that she... Read more »
The next time Japanese novelist Asako Yuzuki comes to the UK, she would like to bake some traditional Japanese muffins for Paul Hollywood on The Great British Bake Off, she says when we... Read more »
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell audiobook review – the life and loss of the woman behind the Bard | Books
The jury is still out on the merits of Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, which arrives in cinemas next month, but there is no arguing with the quality of the source material. Maggie O’Farrell’s... Read more »
Brazil has elected its first Black woman to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, founded in 1897 and modelled on the Académie Française. Ana Maria Gonçalves, 54, is one of Brazil’s most acclaimed... Read more »
The Portuguese artist Paula Rego once said: “Work is the most important thing in life.” I agree with her. Work defines who we are in the world. It gives us purpose and... Read more »
In 2010, the bestselling American novelist Jodi Picoult complained that her work was suffering from sexism. Her 30 novels address weighty subjects from gay rights to gun control, and if they were... Read more »
She was the first woman to be awarded the Booker prize and remains the only Welsh winner, but until now there has been no memorial to the achievements of Bernice Rubens. On... Read more »
She chose the name because it sounded French. When she took out her first newspaper ad, in 1839, she wanted to cultivate an air of mystery and sophistication. In time, her pseudonym,... Read more »